You’ve probably heard a whisper of the latest major clothing company that has gone bankrupt. How exactly does a company go from $85 million dollars in revenue in 2014 to bankruptcy protection at the end of 2016?

According to analysts in this LA Times article, Nasty Gal’s growth was fuelled by heaving spending in advertising and marketing creating what is known as a leaky bucket situation.

Recently, I was in a Facebook group where someone posted something about 6 and 7-figure businesses and all the hype people use around that in their marketing. This person talked about how they asked somebody about the profit margin in their business only to learn that their 6- or 7-figure business had a profit margin of around 15%.

I wanted to address this because sometimes marketing is misleading. I am a big believer that success leaves clues.

Do you ever wonder why you struggle to make your sales targets? Or are you just plain struggling to make ends meet in your business?

I’ve been there and I’ve realized it comes down to 7 key things you aren’t doing. If you start doing just one of these things, I know you will see a difference.

1. You don’t respond with a sense of urgency.

Respond to all client email inquiries within a 24-hour period so your customers and your potential new customers feel like you are interested in their business.

2. You don’t return calls.

When someone leaves you a voicemail it is critical for you or someone on your team to return the call. Don’t make the assumption that the person who called you is always looking for a handout or a discount.

3. You don’t ask for the sale.

If you want the sale, ask for the sale. Don’t be afraid that they might say no or think they can’t afford it. Learn how to close the sale in a way that feels good to you and allows your customer to make a decision. If the decision is no, you do not have to take it personally. Not everyone will say yes, but everyone you don’t ask will.

4. You lack clarity on what you are selling and how it benefits others.

You must have unwavering certainty and clarity on what you offer and know exactly how it can help others (especially if you are service based). When people ask you for help you don’t want to stumble because you don’t know yourself, what you offer or what you charge. Write it down, practice saying it out loud, speak with confidence and have faith in yourself.

5. You have never paid what you want to be paid.

It is time to get out of your own way. Don’t let your own limiting beliefs around who will and won’t buy your product/service interfere. Just because you have never invested this amount of money yourself doesn’t mean others won’t. When you step up to the plate and invest in the same amount yourself as you want others to invest in you, it builds confidence and instantly removes the limiting belief inside of you – you are now someone who has done that.

6. You don’t have a sales process.

Create a system or structure around how to sell and follow it in your business. Selling fundamentals are the same. Learn what they are and become a master at what goes into a good sales cycle. Gather the right information to see how you can serve or sell to your prospect and always be prepared when you are having a sales discussion.

7. You are not focused.

Stay on course. Don’t get distracted so that you fail to notice a buying signal when it is right in front of you. Are you more concerned with how many people like your Facebook post than you are about where your next sale is coming from? You may be expending valuable energy in places that do not align with what you want most because you are not really focused. If you are focused on selling more, do one thing every day to help you sell more. It sounds simple, but it works.

Once you gain clarity around your sales process, how much you want to sell, your numbers and the details… you’re going to notice a difference. Get your head out of the sand (or off your iPhone) and really show up and focus like a true professional.

This week I want to revisit I video I did last spring where I talk about the numbers. It’s so important for you to know how your business is doing financially. This is where the juice is – you can see exactly how your efforts are yielding. Watch and let me know, how often do you track your sales? Daily, weekly, monthly?

If you are afraid of asking for the sale, join me in The Sales Pilot. Let me help you overcome the fear of selling so you can make more money in your business.

There are only people running businesses and there are as many different people and approaches as there are businesses.

If you want to be a successful person running a business, I’ve got great news for you. You can LEARN how to do this.

Businesses operate on a whole bunch of simple principles that you can learn and apply right now.

Here are seven that are near and dear to my heart:

1. Business is an exchange of money for a product or service. It’s not about trading four quarters for a dollar and it certainly isn’t about giving away your products or services for free.

2. Your business is a separate entity from you as a person. Although you may pour your blood, sweat and tears into your business, the success of your business does not reflect back to the success or failure of you as a person.

3. You must sell your product or service and keep more money than you spend to run a profitable business. Selling is NOT a bad thing. You don’t go into Walmart and expect to walk out without paying so why should your business be any different?

4. Business have systems and processes – ways that they operate. The clearer these are crystallized and communicated in your business, the better chance you have for success and growth. When you just wing it, you cannot duplicate what you just did over and over again and measure the impact. Document your processes and create systems for everything. It will keep your customers and your employees happy.

5. Measurements of sales, expenses, profit and cash-flow are how you determine the success of your business. Not by the number of likes on your Facebook page. You cannot take likes to the bank and pay off your mortgage, but you can do that with the profits in your business.

6. Selling is a requirement of any business. You cannot exchange goods and services for money unless someone pays you money. You must sell your products and services to your customer in order to get paid that money. Selling is a skill, a NOBLE skill that can be learned and it does NOT mean you are evil and bad. It’s not selling that makes a person bad, it is the person themselves that does this. STOP letting your mindset around sales keep you broke.

7. Marketing is a function of selling. It is how you let your customer know about your product and service. If you don’t know how to sell – marketing is a waste of time. It is like putting the cart before the horse and then wondering why you are not getting anywhere.

The success of your business is not based on you being a Business Person, it is based on your willingness and desire to learn and be disciplined enough to apply what you learn.

There are millions of business books out there that you can read. There are thousands of programs you can buy and hundreds and thousands of coaches you can hire.

I want you to take the first step and be the owner of a business that knows how to measure what matters, how to create content that will help you to sell, and to actually learn how to sell. Join me in The Pilot To Profit Program and I will teach you.

You can be the successful person who operates your business if you want to be.

In this video I talk more about the art of selling and give you some tips to maximize your sales opportunities. Watch and then tell me….what was the first thing you ever sold?

As the New Year approaches, perhaps you’ve been thinking to yourself, “I want this year to be my best year yet in my business,” or “this year I’m going to finally take action to achieve my dream.”

Sometimes in your business if things aren’t going your way or you face challenges, you can feel discouraged. There is a difference between people who stick it through and people who give up when they face challenges or find their passion dwindling.

Recently, Hal Elrod shared a really powerful blog post. He talked about taking action NOW if you are serious about making progress in 2014 and I couldn’t agree more.

Why would you wait until January 1st to start planning for 2014? The New Year is sometimes the worst time to start planning something new because you have holiday hangover – let’s start taking action right now.

So this week I want to share two things with you. Number one some strategies for you to implement today in your business and number two, a video I shared last year on how to make more money in the new year.

First, I want you to dream big and find out how to take things to the next level so that you make 2014 your best year yet!

You can do this. Don’t wait until January to take action. Start today. Watch this video for a little boost on how to get started:

You can start planning 2014 now; the first plan you can put in place is to participate in the Pilot Project. You can increase your skills, create a solid foundation for your business, and network with like-minded business owners who will become your go-to community for inspiration and support – no one likes to feel like they’re doing it all alone. Learn more

What is your 2014 goal? I want to hear from you! Share in the comments below.

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